Surf's Up

Surf's up! It certainly was at Pasta Point in the Maldives. I have to say that I've always been fascinated by waves and water, half of my childhood was spent falling into rivers, harbours and lakes. After a while my parents got used to carrying a set of dry clothing and a towel while out on day trips because they knew they would yet again be facing the inevitable.

One of my greatest pleasures on holiday is watching and listening to the sea, the sound of waves is like listening to a heartbeat, calming and touching something deep in me. Having lived on the west coast of Scotland for 20 years, I really miss the sound and the smell.

During this holiday I decided to sketch some of the amazing surf that was to be found on part of the island. Although never having felt the urge to try surfing, I really enjoy watching it and the Sunset Bar provided the perfect venue! Cooling drinks, a great deck and spectacular waves all added to the fabulous atmosphere! 

The surfing area is called '' Pasta Point'', is well known to surfers for its 4-6 feet waves and if tackled correctly rides of up to 150 yards are possible. I did wonder about the name, Pasta Point, nothing technical or mysterious here, there used to be an Italian restaurant here and they often chucked the leftovers into the waves!  What was fascinating about the surfers was the fact that they were all round about 50, great to see a sport where experience counts, not just for the young. With up to about 6 surfers in the water at once they put up some show! 

Sketching the waves was tricky because they really are rolling and breaking fast, so catching light/shade and shape quickly was tricky. I found myself wishing that I had brought some white gouache to add some more splashes to the watercolour areas. What you've covered with watercolour really doesn't let you lighten up, this was a lesson for future sea paintings, I don’t work with masking fluid because it ruins brushes, so when making waves to start off with, less is more, leave more white paper, then work in more detail. 

Pastel of course is easier in this respect, so I'm making waves in pastel at the moment, it's something pretty new, so I'll be interested to see the outcome.

In surfer-speak, if it's a wipe-out (spectacular fail) it will be diving down into the depths of my bottom drawer, that unexplored, watery grave for pastel disasters.